A security expert, Bulama Bukarti, has disagreed with a former governor of Zamfara state, Ahmad Yerima, on his recent advice to President Bola Tinubu.
Politics Nigeria earlier reported that Yerima told President Tinubu to negotiate with bandit like the Umar Musa Yar’Adua administration did with Niger-Delta militants.
However, Bukarti said dialogue or negotiations implies that the government will be giving them something in order to get another from them.
“It’s like a compromise and that is not how to deal with them. You don’t negotiate with terrorists; you don’t negotiate with criminals,” the security expert said.
He explained that the idea of giving them opportunity to repent has failed to yield any results.
The security expert advised the use of military force to a large extent before they are granted amnesty but not negotiation.
He further stated that the federal government should allow bandits that want to repent lay down their arms and turn themselves in to the authorities.
Bukarti said the government will then decide whether to prosecute the bandits or follow the procedure laid down by experts to properly demobilise, rehabilitate and reintegrate them into communities.
“That is the process. It is not about negotiation, it is not about dialogue; it is a question of using military force against them to show them that Nigeria has the might to crush them and then you allow them to repent and defect if they want to,” he added.
